Radiodactylus
Radiodactylus was a flying reptile that lived in what is now Texas, USA, about 119 to 112 million years ago. It was a pterosaur, not a dinosaur, and it soared over ancient seas looking for fish to eat. Its name comes from the nuclear power plant where its fossil was found!13
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Fun facts
Radiodactylus is known only from a single nearly complete left humerus (upper arm bone). The bone was found during construction of an emergency spillway at a nuclear power plant.1
Its name means 'radio finger' because it was discovered at the Comanche Peak Nuclear Power Plant. The 'dactyl' part is a common ending for pterosaur names, referring to their long wing fingers.1
Radiodactylus was a close relative of the giant azhdarchid pterosaurs, but it lived much earlier and was smaller than them.1
The species name langstoni honors Dr. Wann Langston Jr., who is called 'the father of Texas pterosaurology' for his work on pterosaurs from Texas.1
Scientists originally thought Radiodactylus was an azhdarchid pterosaur, but later studies showed it was a more primitive member of that group, called a non-azhdarchid azhdarchoid.1
Most asked questions about Radiodactylus
?How big was Radiodactylus?
Radiodactylus was a large-sized pterosaur, but no exact wingspan or weight is given in the sources. It was smaller than the giant azhdarchids that came later.1
?What did Radiodactylus eat?
Radiodactylus was a piscivore, meaning it ate fish. It soared over ancient seas to catch its food.3
?Was Radiodactylus a dinosaur?
No, Radiodactylus was a pterosaur, a flying reptile, not a dinosaur. Pterosaurs are a separate group of reptiles that lived at the same time as dinosaurs.1
?When did Radiodactylus live?
Radiodactylus lived during the Early Cretaceous period, about 119 to 112 million years ago.1
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For dino experts
- Scientific name
- Radiodactylus
- Named by
- Andres and Myers 20133
- Group
- Flying reptiles
- Family / clade
- Neoazhdarchia3
- Classification
- Pterosauria > Pterodactyloidea3
- Age of the rocks
- 113 to 110 million years (Albian)3
- Rock formations
- Glen Rose Limestone3
- Countries
- USA3
- Fossil records
- 1 in the Paleobiology Database3
- Discovery
- Radiodactylus was first described by Phillip Murry and colleagues in 1991, but it was named and given its own genus by Brian Andres and Timothy S. Myers in 2013. The fossil was found at the Comanche Peak Nuclear Power Plant in Texas.1
- Still debated
- Scientists are not sure exactly how Radiodactylus is related to other pterosaurs. Some studies place it as a close cousin of the azhdarchids, while others put it in a different group called Neopterodactyloidea.1
Where the facts come from
- Radiodactylus (en.wikipedia.org)
- Radiodactylus langstoni | Pterosaur Database by DinoAnimals.com (dinoanimals.com)
- Radiodactylus in The Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0): age, places, rock formations, classification.
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